A Dreary Sunday Afternoon
by mellarkable5678
Summary: This is another English assignment that I wrote, using vocabulary words and we were not allowed to use the words time or travel. Enjoy!


The wind howls outside of my home, rattling the windows. The storm was causing me to be devastated on what should have been a fun Sunday. I press my fingers to my ears, glancing at the clock. The digital screen reads ' 1:59 p.m. ' An hour and a minute until my parents arrive at home with my younger siblings on this dreary Sunday afternoon, and I have nothing to do. _What should I do? _I think to myself as I wander around my deserted home. When I reach the slippery kitchen floor, I grab the counter to steady myself and accidently pull a switch. The floor topples out from underneath me and I land in a heap in what seems to be a dirt cellar. The floor above me flaps shut and I realize that I am in this room, alone. I grope along the walls and pull a cold metal string, which flips on a dusty light that casts an eerie glow. I dust my gray-blue jeans and ivory sweater off, and start searching for an exit. As I explore the room, I find a rusted switch on the wall, not at all vintage, along with a place to enter the current year and a past year. Curious, I press in the year "2012" and the year that I have always been curious about living in, "1579". The words flash into the screen "Type in current place and future destination." I write "Los Angeles, CA" and "London, England". Then I press the flashing green button that reads "go". The walls creak and shudder, and all of the sudden the room begins to spin. I fall to the floor, blinded by the bright flamboyant light.

As the room slows and crashes to the ground, I open my eyes, feeling haggard. I look around, and step outside to a grassy field with cows. I look at my clothes self-consciously, to see that I was wearing Elizabethan era clothing, and the man in the distance looks to be wearing the same. I think about what I learned in English class, about using context to figure out something when reading, and I find myself doing the same thing now. I would take a guess that I have just landed in a new era, back in the past, probably 1579. I sighed and smoothed the pretty red dress that fit snugly over my body and spreads over the ground in a pervasive manner. I glanced at my wrist, and was relieved to see my watch still there, reading the time ' 2:10 '. I had fifty minutes to get myself back four hundred and thirty-three years into the future.

The man I had seen earlier in the distance now was within speaking range, so, in my best Elizabethan Age accent, I called, "Brave soul, I fear cunning and mad knaves, and thy help would be deserving."

The boy stares at me for a second, then deciding to go with his best instinct (to help me, of course), he asks, "What do thee fancy?"

I respond, "I am new to this testy land, and I fancy going back home. I have seen vengeful and vile things here, and there is no suffrage here. I am fearful."

The boy stares at me again, then in a condescending tone, announces in a booming voice, "I shall help thou return to thy home!" His voice reverberates in a drone around the field and mountains.

I stare at him, and then nod quickly. He helps me over the rocks in the fields, and leads me back to the site of the crash. I think to myself again, _Boys. Always think _they _are the hero and that us girls aren't as good as them._ I sigh again, and the boy asks, "Is thou alright, miss?"  
I just nod in return again. The boy asks me, "Is thou tired? I can carry thou if thee fancies."

I groan mentally again, but put on a smile and nod. He lifts me up in his strong arms, and I relax. We reach the sight of the machine, and he sets me gently on my feet. "Thank you, kind sir," I say and curtsy.

He nods, bows, and says, "It was no trouble to help such a quaint young lady, miss. Have a nice day." He bows again, and then turns away.

"Wait!" I call. The boy turns back. "What is you-thy name?"

He whispers, "Harry."

I smile, thinking of my favorite books. "Mine is Laya. Thank you again, Harry."

He grins back at me, and for a second, I imagine him back in the twenty-first century with me. I realize that could never happen, and that he could do something amazing here in sixteenth century England. "Good bye!" I shout.

"Good bye," he says, then glancing back at me once more, turns away again. I rush into the machine that moves through the ages, and change the numbers back to 2012. I glance at my watch, seeing the time ' 2:55 '. The machine takes off spinning. Little did I know that Harry was watching me leave, a sad smile on his face.

The room performs its crash landing maneuver once more before I climb back out of it, panting, and slam the secret cupboard shut. I race to my room and grab a book, just as the keys turn in the lock at the front door. My mom calls, "Hi Laya!" I grin and call hello back.

That night, I thought about my adventure, especially the part when I met Harry. I smile again. That was really nice, but it was good to be back to the status quo.


End file.
